The Description of the Vitiligo Victim from Psychological and Sociological Aspects

THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VITILIGO VICTIM FROM THE

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS

A PAPER

WRITTEN

BY

ROTUA MEYLY

REG. NO. : 122202064

DIPLOMA-III ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA

MEDAN

Approved by

Supervisor,

Dr.Roswita Silalahi, M.Hum. NIP 19540528198303 2 001

Submitted to Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of Sumatera Utara in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Diploma III in English Study Program

Approved by

Head of English Diploma Study Program,

Dr. Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A. NIP 19521126198112 1 001

Approved by the Diploma III of English Study Program

Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of Sumatera Utara

Accepted by the Board of Examiners in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Diploma III Examination of the Diploma III of English Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of Sumatera Utara.

The examination is held on July 28th 2015

Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of Sumatera Utara

Dean,

Dr.Syahron Lubis, M.A. NIP: 19511013197603 1 001

Board of Examiners : Signature

1. Head of ESP (Dr.Matius C.A. Sembiring, M.A)

2. Supervisor (Dr.Roswita Silalahi, M.Hum.)

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AUTHOR’S DECLARATION

I am, ROTUA MEYLY, declare that I am the sole author of this paper. Except where the reference is made in the text of this paper, this paper contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a paper by which I have qualified for or awarded another degree.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of this paper. This paper has not been submitted for the award of another degree in any tertiary education.

Signed :

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COPYRIGHT DECLARATION

Name : ROTUA MEYLY

Title of Paper : The Description of the Vitiligo Victim from Psychological and Sociological Aspects

Qualification : D-III/Ahli Madya

Study Program : English

I am willing that my paper should be available for reproduction at the discretion of the Librarian of the Diploma III English Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Studies, USU on the understanding that users are made aware of their obligation under law of the Republic of Indonesia.

Signed :

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ABSTRACT

This paper describes about the vitiligo victims, people who have a kind of skin disease, also known as vitiligian in science from the psychological and sociological aspects. The topics discussed about what the problems of the vitiligo victims from the psychological and sociological aspects are and what the vitiligo vcitims have done to manage the skin disease and overcome the problems. These problems will be discussed more detail in this paper. The purposes of writing this paper are to explain the readers and let the readers know and understand some of the psychological and sociological problems of the vitiligo victims and also to explain the readers the managing steps for this disease and the way to overcome the problems of psychological and sociological aspects. In writing this paper, the author found the information by reading books from various sources that relate to the topic and also doing searching data from internet, especially Wikipedia and from social line, Facebook.

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ABSTRAK

Kertas karya ini berisi tentang masalah-masalah yang dihadapi oleh penderita vitiligo, salah satu jenis penyakit kulit yang menyerang warna kulit sipenderita, yang ditinjau dari aspek psikologi dan sosiologi. Adapun pokok pembahasan topik ini adalah apa-apa saja masalah psikologi dan sosiologi yang dihadapi oleh penderita vitiligo dan apa-apa saja yang telah dilakukan dalam menanggulangi penyakit kulit dan menanggulangi masalah psikologi dan sosiologi tersebut. Masalah-masalah tersebut diatas akan dibahas lebih terperinci dalam kertas karya ini. Tujuan dari penulisan kertas karya ini adalah untuk menjelaskan kepada para pembaca mengenai masalah psikologi dan sosiologi yang dihadapi oleh penderita vitiligo sehingga mereka akan tahu dan mengerti akan masalah tersebut dan juga tujuan kertas karya ini adalah untuk menjelaskan kepada para pembaca mengenai langkah-langkah yang dapat dilakukan dalam mengobati penyakit kulit ini dan dalam menghadapi masalah psikologi dan sosiologi yang ada. Untuk membantu dalam penulisan kertas karya ini, penulis mencari informasi dengan membaca buku dari berbagai sumber yang berhubungan dengan topik dan juga mengumpulkan data dengan mencari informasi dari internet, khususnya Wikipedia dan media sosial, yaitu Facebook.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Beyond of all, I would like to give my gratitude for God, Jesus Christ for His blessing and guiding me abundantly in writing and accomplishing this paper as one of the requirements to get Diploma-III certificate from English Department Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of Sumatera Utara. Without His mercy, I am nothing at all in doing this paper. Thanks God.

Then, I would like to express my thankful, love, and appreciation to:

• Dr.Syahron Lubis, M.A. as the Dean of Faculty of Cultural Studies, University of Sumatera Utara.

• Dr.Matius C.A.Sembiring, M.A. as the Head of English Diploma Study Program, who have supervised me in doing this paper.

• Dr.Roswita Silalahi, M.Hum. as my supervisor. Thank you very much for the valuable time in giving the correction and constructive critics and suggestions in completing this paper.

• Drs.Siamir Marulafau, M.Hum. as my reader. Thank you very much for the valuable time in reading for completing this paper.

• All of the lecturers in English Diploma Study Program for sharing us a lot of knowledge.

• My truly beloved parents, St.S.Nainggolan and L.Pakpahan. I express my very special thankfulness for you, father and mother in this paper. Thank you very much for your pray, your support, your unconditionally love, your understanding, and your finance for me always.

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I am proud of having you and I present this paper special for you as you know me well since I was born in this world.

• My beloved brother, Sintro Side Nainggolan, my sister in-law, Elisabeth Murni Sinaga, and my cute nephew, Josephen Francisco Nainggolan. Thank you for your praying, supporting, and understanding.

• All of my friends, especially Saraho, Elisaho, Floho, and Ekaho. Thank you very much for teaching me many things in this life, through words, act, and advice.

• The Community of Vitiligo 25th June in Facebook. Thank you so much for your sharing that helping me in writing this paper.

Finally, I do realize that this paper is still far from being perfect, so that I welcome any constructive critics and suggestion. May this paper is helpful for the readers.

Medan, July 28th, 2015 The author,

Rotua Meyly

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHOR’S DECLARATION ... i

COPYRIGHT DECLARATION ... ii

ABSTRACT ... iii

ABSTRAK ... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... vii

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Background of the Study ... 1

1.2 The Problems of the Study ... 4

1.3 The Scope of the Study ... 4

1.4 The Purposes of the Study ... 4

1.5 The Significances of the Study ... 5

1.6 The Method of the Study ... 5

2. THE REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Culture ... 6

2.2 Psychology ... 7

2.3 Sociology ... 9

2.4 Vitiligo/the Skin Disease ... 11

3. THE STEPS OF OVERCOMING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS 3.1 The Psychological Problems ... 13

3.2 The Sociological Problems ... 17

3.3 The Steps of Managing the Skin Disease ... 20

3.4 The Steps of Overcoming the Psychological Problems ... 22

3.5 The Steps of Overcoming the Sociological Problems ... 24

4. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 4.1 Conclusions ... 27

4.2 Suggestions ... 28

REFERENCES ... 29

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ABSTRACT

This paper describes about the vitiligo victims, people who have a kind of skin disease, also known as vitiligian in science from the psychological and sociological aspects. The topics discussed about what the problems of the vitiligo victims from the psychological and sociological aspects are and what the vitiligo vcitims have done to manage the skin disease and overcome the problems. These problems will be discussed more detail in this paper. The purposes of writing this paper are to explain the readers and let the readers know and understand some of the psychological and sociological problems of the vitiligo victims and also to explain the readers the managing steps for this disease and the way to overcome the problems of psychological and sociological aspects. In writing this paper, the author found the information by reading books from various sources that relate to the topic and also doing searching data from internet, especially Wikipedia and from social line, Facebook.

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ABSTRAK

Kertas karya ini berisi tentang masalah-masalah yang dihadapi oleh penderita vitiligo, salah satu jenis penyakit kulit yang menyerang warna kulit sipenderita, yang ditinjau dari aspek psikologi dan sosiologi. Adapun pokok pembahasan topik ini adalah apa-apa saja masalah psikologi dan sosiologi yang dihadapi oleh penderita vitiligo dan apa-apa saja yang telah dilakukan dalam menanggulangi penyakit kulit dan menanggulangi masalah psikologi dan sosiologi tersebut. Masalah-masalah tersebut diatas akan dibahas lebih terperinci dalam kertas karya ini. Tujuan dari penulisan kertas karya ini adalah untuk menjelaskan kepada para pembaca mengenai masalah psikologi dan sosiologi yang dihadapi oleh penderita vitiligo sehingga mereka akan tahu dan mengerti akan masalah tersebut dan juga tujuan kertas karya ini adalah untuk menjelaskan kepada para pembaca mengenai langkah-langkah yang dapat dilakukan dalam mengobati penyakit kulit ini dan dalam menghadapi masalah psikologi dan sosiologi yang ada. Untuk membantu dalam penulisan kertas karya ini, penulis mencari informasi dengan membaca buku dari berbagai sumber yang berhubungan dengan topik dan juga mengumpulkan data dengan mencari informasi dari internet, khususnya Wikipedia dan media sosial, yaitu Facebook.

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Study

Some people are born on a perfect condition of physic as some are no, some have disability of physic which disturbed the appearance since they were born in this world. But mostly in this era modernization people were born on a perfect condition but after getting older it changed become something that disturbed the appearance itself. It can be caused of many factors, such as: an accident of car or motorcycle, the using of wrong cosmetic, the wrong habit that give a bad effect on the body, the low immune that make the body is easier to be attacked of disease.

Here, on this writing, the author would like to describe a condition of people which were born with a normal skin color but along with time it changed into white patches that simply disturbed the appearance. The description of skin disease on this paper is concerning about how the feeling of pain is, especially the pain of minds which can be said in other words as the psychology and the sociology for social life impact of people who suffer the skin disease.

In a medical science, especially dermatology, the skin disease is known as Vitiligo [vɪti'laɪgoʊ] that is believed to be derived from a Latin language, that is “vitium”, which is meant “defect” or “blemish” for the skin of Vitiligian [vɪti'laɪ'ʤaiǝn], people who suffered Vitiligo. A skin disease of Vitiligo is a condition when the skin and the hair of the skin are losing their natural color, in other words, it is a condition when the skin losing the pigment and changing the

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color of the normal skin to white pale patches. It occurred when the skin pigment cells die or unable to do the function normally, however, the loss of skin pigmentation is particularly noticeable or easy to be seen, as it is around the parts of body, such as face, wrist, feet, mouth, eyes, and nostrils/around the nose.

This is not a new discovered kind of disease but, of course, this is a rare disease among human beings around the world.

The vitiligo victims usually need a high support from people who are close with them or family members to have and keep spirit to face their daily life. The vitiligo victims usually have a same struggling in life on a condition of mentally down, very depressed, very stressful, and feeling very bad among other people. But along with time, after getting older and older, getting adult, more mature physically and spiritually, the vitiligo victims will understand and believed that everything happened for a clear and great reason. How hard the condition, the reason why that thing happened is not always need to be known, because sometimes just the time which can answer the most important question on this life. This is absolutely have a very long challenging, many spiritual lesson, very much the struggle of life, and these the vitiligo victims can say as the Power of God’s hand.

Stress itself affects human in many ways. It may increase the risk to get ill, or even it may directly cause illness, or it may make less able to recover from a disease, and it may reduce the ability to cope with future stress. And that is something threaten or challenge that human need to get over through as wise as

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could do. For example, without stress, human might not be sufficiently motivated to complete the activities they need to accomplish. However, it is also clear that too much stress can take a victim on physical and psychological health.

Health and illness are not spread out in same or random way in the life of society as some people are easier to get sick than others, and many diseases are more common in a group of people than among others. Many factors are involved in causing a person get a disease. Some are genetic; the other factors are social, income level, occupation, place of residence, lifestyle—all these and more affect the causing disease.

Humans are cultural species and by a psychological science simply make humans have a great understanding about how humans’ minds work and the behavior of human themselves. People often think that perspective of the world is the only possible one, that all people must and do see the world in the same way. However, this simply makes people unable to understand the behavior of others. From a different point of view only the social behavior of a person is shaped. Physical and social environments, physiological structure, wants and goals, and past experiences are the specific factors that influence the individual reflection to the world.

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1.2 The Problems of the Study

Based on the background above, the problem of this study may be recognized as follows:

1) What are the problems of the vitiligo victims from the psychological and sociological aspects?

2) What have the vitiligo victims done to manage the skin disease and overcome the problems of psychological and sociological aspects?

1.3 The Scope of the Study

In order to be specific in the writing of this paper, the author would like to limit the things to be described on this paper. The author just describes about the problems of the vitiligo victims from psychological and sociological aspects, especially the author would like to describe the experience of Rotua Meyly to get concern tightly of this writing of paper.

1.4 The Purposes of the Study

Related to the problem of the study, the purpose of this study may be recognized as follows:

1) The author uses a question word of what as the first problem of this study in order to explain to the readers and let the readers know and understand some of the psychological and sociological problems of the vitiligo victims.

2) The author, again, uses a question word of what as the second problem of this study is in order to explain the readers the managing steps for those problems.

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1.5 The Significances of the Study

The significances that the author can find in this paper are:

The author thinks that there are not many people know about this disease, some might think that the skin was burnt or felt down on something, or others. But here, after describing the disease on this paper, hopefully the readers are able to understand about this skin disease and the problems of psychological and sociological aspects of the sufferer of this skin disease and hopefully the author wants the readers can help the people who also suffer vitiligo out to maintain their complaint or pain of mind by treating and blending with them is one of the best efforts that the readers can do.

1.6 The Method of the Study

The author uses a method of collecting data by doing library research that is reading books that relate to the topic, doing searching data from internet, especially Wikipedia and from social line, Facebook.

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2. The Review of Related Literature

2.1 Culture

Culture is a defining in determining how and what people think and act on daily life, in social interaction. It is comprised of ideas, behavior, and material objects that are passed from one person to another and from one generation to the next in a human group or society. In a particular way, culture is often used to refer specifically the symbolic object which indicate one ethnic group is distinguish from another such as body modification , clothing, or jewelry.

Society and culture are related each other. Man has lived out his life as a member of a society from birth to death. In society, man has to live in the whole part of social influence that activities become the core a set of common goals, common beliefs, attitudes, and modes of action. The more understanding about culture society has, the more culture effects help the society to develop a sociological imagination. Those are more concerned with maintaining a sense of interpersonal harmony and, thus, should consider more about how things happened in the world affect tightly one to another. Culture is essential for individual survival and communication with other people as it gives the information that people need to remain alive; how to take care, how to behave, how to get dress, what to eat, which gods to worship, or how to make or spend money. Haviland (1993:30) says that culture has been described as the common denominator that makes the actions of individuals intelligible to the group.

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Culture shapes people’s thoughts and behaviors in many ways for living. The differences “the ways for living” upon the individual is indicated by the cultural shaping of perception, memory, and attitudes of that individual self. The social interaction only will acquire “the effect of culture upon individual” to various people that allow the training in the life-ways is acquired. Richerson & Boyd (2005) says that the matter of culture is used in the meaning as a source of any kind of information that is required from members of one’s species through social learning that is capable of affecting an individual’s behaviors.

In this modern era globalization, the idea of “culture” has been widened, not only discuss or analyze about the traditional high culture, but also more fully analyzing about everyday meanings and practices. It applies the wider social sciences. The theoretical perspective of cultural materialism that hold human symbolic culture arises from the material conditions of human life, as human create the conditions for physical survival, and the basis of culture is found in develop gradually biological nature.

2.2 Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, in fact, from this definition, psychology consists of three main parts that build it up, that is science, behavior, and mental processes. As a science, psychology uses systematic methods to observe, describe, predict, and explain behavior, because psychologists use the same research methods as physicists, biologists, and other scientists, as psychology is a scientific discipline.

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The behavior and mental processes tells about what people thoughts,

emotions, perceptions, reasoning processes, and even the biological activities that maintain the function of body, such as the feeling and thinking of protecting family, the natural affection of loving someone, and how the brain and the nervous system are exist. These all rely on ideas, values, feelings, strategies, and goals that have been shaped by human cultural experiences self. Psychology tries to describe, predict, and explain human behavior and mental processes, as well as helping to change and improve the lives of people and the world itself.

Besides that, the study of psychology and behavior which rooted in and embodied in culture discuss on one field of study that is cultural psychology. The main principle of cultural psychology is that the mind and culture are inseparable and mutually constitutive, which is said in other words that people are shaped by their culture and their culture is also shaped by them

As the author has described about the vitiligo, that immune system is responsible for the causing of it and the psychologists had studied the relationship among psychological factors, the immune system, and the brain. There are three main consequences that briefing them all. First, Stress has direct psychological results, including an increase in blood pressure, and increase in hormonal activity, and an overall decline in the functioning of the immune system. Second, stress leads people to engage in behaviors that are harmful to their health, as like increased nicotine, drug, alcohol use; bad eating habit; and poor sleep. Finally, stress weakens our health in an indirect way.

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As the author has described on the background of study that besides feeling stressful, the vitiligo victims usually have a same struggling in life on a condition of mentally down and very depressed. Coyne (2000) says that depression is one kind of mood disturbance. The mood disturbance can include understanding, behavioral, and physical symptoms, as well as interpersonal difficulties. The depression is a condition when an individual suffered a depressive disorder without ever experiencing madness. As like the vitiligo victim themselves, they are not getting mad of something, but the understanding that feeling attacked, being a topic of others conversation in some places, feeling seeing of many people with an odd staring simply attacked the mind.

2.3 Sociology

Sociology is the scientific study of have a better understanding about the world towards society. Sociology is applied by sociologist to be learnt the whole people in this world with some purposes that given a valuable part of giving the self-understanding and self-improvement in various situation in society, providing a special way of approaching personal problems, the job-related, or political that can help society to make the decisions in everyday life.

Sociology has many subfields that discuss about, and one of them is the Sociology of Health and Illness. World Health Organization (1946) says that health, or lack of health, was once merely attributed to biological or natural conditions. Health is a word to state of complete physical, mental, and social well-

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being and not merely the absence of disease, or infirmity. Health is not an easy term to define.

For children and adults, there are three main categories may be considered as defined in illness: physical appearance, emotional disposition, and behavioral traits. Among these three categories physical appearance is the first and most obvious part. The way people react to someone’s face and outward appearance can simply affect that person’s personality. The broadness of the shoulders, hips, and mouth; the length of the nose or legs; the texture and color of skin and hair— all influence the way people treat a person. As unfair as this may seem, such differential responses begin almost immediately in life. Brooks (1989) says that our bias against physically unattractive people is so strong that an organization called Uglies Unlimited was formed to help its members cope with problems regarding self-respect and job opportunities.

Helman (1990: 63-68) says that a world view of many cultural groups integrates physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, and three all are necessary for optimal health. Even within the biomedical model, cultural values are reflected when it comes to diagnosing and treating disease.

Kleinman (1978) says that where medical research might gather statistics on a disease, a sociological perspective on an illness would provide insight on what external factors caused the demographics which contracted the disease to become ill. Illness refers to the socio-cultural context within which disease is experienced.

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2.4 Vitiligo/ the skin disease

Vitiligo is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin are destroyed. The whitened patches are hypersensitive to ultraviolet light and burn readily when exposed to the sun. As a result, white patches appear on the skin in different parts on the body. This is a spreading kind of disease. The spreading is not for other people, but for only the body of the vitiligo victims. Similar patches also appear on both the mucous membranes (tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose) and the retina (inner layer of the eyeball). The hair that grows on areas affected by vitiligo sometimes turns white.

For long last time, the cause of the disorder is unknown, and although multiple theories have been suggested as potential triggers that cause vitiligo, continuously, studies strongly imply that changes in the immune system are responsible for the condition of vitiligo. Variations in genes that are part of the immune system or part of melanocytes have both been associated with vitiligo. But sometimes, vitiligo is associated with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases or a disease that is caused as like burnt.

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3. THE STEPS OF OVERCOMING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

Physical appearance is one of the factors that influence people’s personality. Also looking pretty is most wanted and desired thing not only by women but also by men all over the world and thus there are a lot of skin care creams and cosmetics that are being produced and used world widely at a very large-scale.

People do believe on looking at the outside at the first time, the author do believe on it, most of people do believe on it, because logically, how will someone get to the point of knowing the beauty of inside of the other without having an intimacy with that person. Although in some cases, some psychologist are having ability to do that by looking someone’s style of walking, of speaking, of laughing, of eating, of staring, and many things, but it is just a very few one of human being, not many people are able to do that, of course. The beauty of outside is mostly as the thing that people will look at the first time.

As like vitiligo, of course, it is painless, and is not itchy, but it really disturbed the physical appearance, psychological health, and social life of the victim and it has transform into a social stigma. A number of people suffer from depression and stressful because of this disease and in order to obtain vitiligo cure many dermatologist is trying to have research and finding the medicine to get it cure, so that people can out run this depression or stressful and get their self confidence back.

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Besides that, Cooley (1922/1902) says that individual’s personality is not simply who that person actually are or what people actually think about; it is based on the perception of how other people think of that person. As the first problem of study on this paper, the author uses a question of what the problems of the vitiligo victims from the psychological and sociological aspects. Here, the author would like to describe into two parts.

3.1 The Psychological Problems

As the author has explained on the background of study, mostly the vitiligo victims have the same problems of psychology aspect as on condition of mentally down, that is a condition of lose the self-confidence in front of other, very depressed as a condition of having a very low spirit in mind, very stressful, and feeling very bad among other people. Bhaskar says, “Vitiligo gave an awkward feeling when I was in a public place. I found myself nowhere. Selecting clothes was a tough job, getting a good photograph was even tougher. It becomes stressful when it comes to issues like finding a partner, meeting people in a new environment, etc. Though it is not contagious at times find it difficult to accept us. We are just as common as other people.” The vitiligo victims feel that people are focusing on their skin color disease on their body when talk with them. And the author believes that sometimes this perception was simply wrong and sometimes is simply right.

The most commonly part that happened in the vitiligo victims as psychological problem is stress.

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Stress affects human in many ways. And indeed, all of people must have ever faced or are facing stress in life. It can be a condition on being over-loaded with work, dealing with a difficult situation, or being frustrated in an unhappy relationship, and many other things, including the affecting of vitiligo. It may increase the risk to get ill, or even it may directly cause illness, or it may make less able to recover from a disease, and it may reduce the ability to cope with future stress. And that is something threaten or challenge that human need to get over through as wise as people could do. For example, without stress, human might not be sufficiently motivated to complete the activities they need to accomplish. However, it is also clear that too much stress can take a victim on physical and psychological health.

Sometimes, stress is useful but extreme stress often leads to serious health problems. Stress is a normal part of life—and, of course, an absolutely poor part of life.

As like the author has described that the immune systems are responsible for the condition of vitiligo. The vitiligo victims often fell stressful with a condition that happened on them. Indeed, stress and the immune system are closely related. Stress is the causing of the weakened of the immune system. When a person is in the alarm or exhaustion stage, for example, the immune system functions poorly, and, of course, in this stage the strange material, such as bacteria and viruses are likelier to multiply and cause disease.

Among the vitiligo victims there is the most psychology problem as a personality factor in making them become so much stress with the unusual skin

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condition. In psychology, it is called as the Type A behavior. One of the Type A behaviors is mostly having by the vitiligo victims is impatient. The vitiligo victims expects the repigmentation, the process of getting back the normal skin color as soon as possible, but indeed, it takes a very long time to get repigmentation fully for the skin color for vitiligo, this is, of course, causing the more stressful condition for them for the expectation is opposite with the reality.

Look at this statement one of the vitiligians on World Vitiligo Day-June 25th page on facebook, Christina Alvarado. Christina Alvarado says, “I have a hard time accepting my condition, when I see others that are accepting it changes my outlook on life. Thank you to all who share your photos and information. It is helpful to others like me.” On this statement, of course, it shows that Christina Alvarado has a very hard psychology problem in her life of accepting her condition which leads her on a very high stressful condition.

Rotua Meyly gave her experience to be shared on this paper. Rotua Meyly did not have vitiligo since was born until junior high school. But when entered senior high school, grade one, semester two at the age of fifteenth, the vitiligo started to appear on her upper lip, until now in college at the age of twentiethone. It has been for almost 6 years Rotua Meyly suffering vitiligo. And after three years of having vitiligo, it got spreading on my face from little to the big one, but it has been stopped spreading on my face until now.

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Here is what she said: “What will you feel if you are trying not to be yourself? I meant trying to hide from what you are not, by covering something to hide your imperfection? It is all about the tiredness that comes up on the fury heart. Everybody does not want to be someone that they are not, because the best way to know ourselves is to be ourselves, just the way we are. I had been ever on a mentally down, do not want to go outside on a crowded place, I make space for myself, I build up a big and tall wall between me and the world. I do not love myself, the condition that I have, the skin that I have on my face. But the time is let me learn and my family (father, mother, and brother), my friends, and my bestfriend who always give support to me. And the most powerful hand that help and strengthen me when I am afraid, when I am weak, when I feel bad about myself, He always there for me, God is strengthen me. He loves me so much, that

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I never saw for long time that make me lost of myself. It is exist for myself, I got tired to be not myself, to cover my skin disease, to get it blurt by something that can make it same as like my normal skin color, I hated it much, I hated to cover it up. I cannot do that along and always every time I want to go somewhere, every time I want to look more confident in front of others, and every time I try harder to hide it, at that time also I get more and more tired to do that. I sometimes feel to have an escaping the world of me, me, me, and only me, is there such as that world? Sadly, there is no that kind of world in reality such as like that. Sometimes people whisper near to me and accidentally made me hear what they are talking about. They are talking about what is wrong with my face. And it makes me sad inside of my heart, it makes me uncomfortable towards people. Vitiligo victims are a very sensitive one. Just act normally towards us. I don’t need to have a life-threatening experience to start bringing meaning into my life, but something that I have to do is to know it itself. Trying to have more positive than negative emotions is the best way that I have done for myself, although it is not so easy as we thought, but live in meaningful life is better, indeed. Avoiding covering my vitiligo is the best part that I have done for myself.”

3.2 The Sociological Problems

Sociology is a science that given a valuable part of giving the self-understanding and self-improvement in various situation, but for the vitiligo victims mostly having sociological problems in their life and it gave really bad self-understanding and self-improvement for themselves. Sociology becomes a fail science for the vitiligo victims as mostly they have sociological problems in

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their life, as like life style, having communication or interaction with people, and also a social life around society.

People cannot understand the real feeling of the vitiligo victims have in their life. Mostly friends and family members support to be always act common towards people. The vitiligo victims are trying to do it, but sometimes it is hard for them to act natural towards people especially for the vitiligo victims who have vitiligo on their face. The feeling of bad is there on their mind, the feeling of being the center of attention is real.

Monika Solone commented one of the vitiligo victim’ status on Facebook. Monika Solone says, “I have vitiligo for eight years and still getting used to change everyday. It is taking over my body faster. I still have same feeling as in beginning when people look at me what they see. Is it me or my colorless’ skin. I am not going to lie. It does bother me. But there is nothing I can do to make it go away. I will have to live with it for rest of my life. I will have to get used to all the locks and curiosity. Most people stare at me I tell myself they are not aware or education for vitiligo. No one has right to judge. Because they are also not perfect. Worst part of autoimmune is so many side effects and vitiligo is just one of them. I comfort myself saying it could me life threatening decease, what I have is just social decease. I hope you stay strong. Welcome to the group.” See, on Monika Solone statement, there is a statement a distress and depression of her feeling “But there is nothing I can do to make it go away.” A deep feeling inside of her is want to get cure from vitiligo is always what the vitiligo victims expecting, but vitiligo is a hard skin disease to get cure, need a very high patient to cure it.

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Many the vitiligo victims choose to avoid crowded or people who gathering in one place because they think that it will hurt themselves by getting much awkward attention and being the topic of talking off. This, of course, makes the vitiligo victims far away from the highest purposes of sociology itself.

Some people are even scare to see the vitiligo victims, maybe because some think that the skin disease will be getting spread by having contact them. The vitiligo victims do understand others feeling that do not want to get affected too as like the changing of the skin color, but all of people mostly have a point of view is a misconception. Vitiligo is not spreading kind of disease by having contact with. It is just spreading on the body of the sufferer. As one of the vitiligo victims’ statement that he shared off on community of VitiligoWorldDay in Facebook, Anandharaj Ganesan says, “Though I suffered a lot with vitiligo, I respect, love and care for people who genuinely accept me as one amongst them and I never bother about people who comment on my features. I always wanted to be unique in whatever I do. I am a volunteer of “For Being Better India” project to serve rural people. Social service gives me a positive energy to build myself. I would like to convey that vitiligo is a de-pigmentation of skin, it is just a disorder. It won’t spread by accepting foods, physical touch or working with vitiligo affected people.”

So, do not run away from the vitiligo victims. The vitiligo victims are not people who need to be distanced off, they are still as like normal people. The vitiligo victims are different just because of the white pale patches of the skin color on the body. It is just about the skin not more than that. “We are not the skin

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we live in, we are so much more. We live in a body that contains the real person we truly are. Our skin and all that is behind our physical holders is just a carrier. We have a soul that represents our true essence.”- Anonyms. The vitiligo victims need to blend and have to gather with other people. So, act normal towards the vitiligo victims is the best thing that readers can do.

As the second problem of study on this paper, the author uses a question of what the vitiligians have done to manage and overcome the skin disease and the problems. A stressful condition will only be reduced when a person successfully copes with it. Successful coping is engaged with a number of factors, including engage in problem-focused coping, use positive self-talk, seek social support, and practice relaxation. These engage in psychology part.

3.3 The Steps of Managing the Skin Disease

Indeed, vitiligo has taken a serious attention of Dermatologist (expert in science of the skin) and they have given their time and energy to resolve about this disease and they shared some tips about how to manage vitiligo in daily life, by that, the author herself doing some ways to overcome this disease in daily life, and those are:

1) By protecting the skin from the sun

This tip is engage with some reasonable ideas of the dermatologist: a. Skin that has lost its pigment/the skin color sunburn very easily b. Vitiligo can be worsen if getting a bad sunburn

c. For the vitiligo victims who have a fair skin, avoiding the sun will keep the skin away from tan that will make the vitiligo noticeable.

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So, to protect the skin from the sun, the author herself using sunscreen with UVA/UVB protection, a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or more, and water resistance one and wearing clothing that protects her skin from the sun as like using a half long hands shirt/t-shirt and pant if go outside and using umbrella. 2) Avoiding getting a tattoo or any kind of thing that need to have wound the skin. It will make the vitiligo spreading easily.

3) Learning more about vitiligo.

Knowledge often improves a person’s quality of life. So do people who have a problem with their health. By searching and reading in some media about vitiligo helps the author learning more can help her decides what treatment feels right for her.

4) Eating the best food

The author herself eating the food that is good for vitiligo as like oranges, lemons, grapefruits, cantaloupe, kiwis, strawberries, vegetables, tomatoes, red, green peppers and broccoli that are rich vitamin c regularly and avoiding the food that is not good to eat as like cashew, mango, cassava, cherry, red chilies, areca nut, raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, blueberries, pears, apples, and teas as they contain phenol compounds (tannins).

5) Applying ointment every night (Protopic Ointment 0.1 %) and drinking celery juice regularly. But it is better for the vitiligo victims to consult with the skin doctor first before deciding to choose one of the treatments to cure vitiligo.

Many people and even doctors said that vitiligo is hard to be cure but, of course, it can be cure with a long time treatment of the vitiligo victims. So, the

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vitiligo victims themselves believe, hope, and keep faith that they will get well soon.

Marcela Romero says, “I will begin a homeopathic treatment for vitiligo. The treatment was suggested by an acquaintance of mine and the treatment from India. Wish me luck with it.” And Rosco Freeman shared his vitiligo treatment by consuming herbal organic baby red and green romaine, chilantro, salad, banana, and celery. And Rotua Meyly is also consuming these to cure vitiligo.

3.4 The Steps of Overcoming the Psychological Problems

Stress has three factors that examine it. Firstly, it is about personality factors. Certain personality characteristic help people cope more effectively with stress and make them less attacked to illness. This is the hard part for the vitiligo victims to get the certain personality in order to cope the effective way with stress. And that is why many vitiligo victims get worst with the vitiligo condition on their body, the more stress caused the vitiligo spreading easily.

In this personality factor there are three distinguishing pattern in coping stress as apply the good personality in the vitiligo victims’ life, the Type B behavior pattern, hardiness, and personal control. The Type B behavior pattern includes being relaxed and easygoing. The vitiligo victims understand and choose to stay healthy with positive psychology. Hardiness—which involves a sense of commitment, a sense of control, and a perceptions of problems as challenges rather than threats—is a stress buffer and is related to reduced illness. This personality factor is simply makes the vitiligo victims to control the emotion of thinking that caused the stress itself, but in another aspect also it is the hard part to

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control the feeling of act common towards people that the vitiligo victims meet in the street or college, or school, or another public place where going outside. The vitiligo victims considered the different color on their face is just the uniqueness that makes them different from others, of course this is very much hard controlling the emotion of thinking. And the last is about the personal control. Personal control is the important aspect of stress to extent people in controlling and reducing stress. A sense of personal control over stressful has been related to emotional well-being, successful coping with a stressful event, and behavior change that can help to make a good health.

Many ways are there to overcome the psychology problems among the vitiligo victims and the simplest way to have it is to accept the condition for who they are. Menakshi says, “I don’t find vitiligo to be a hindrance in my personal of social life. I am still the same old confident person with a strong will. Be confident, love yourself the way you are, because no one can replace you. Be strong for yourself. Do not negativity of others to put you down, at the end of the day it is just your morals and self motivation that is going to stay. I always believe that confidence takes you higher each day.” Just stay positive and healthy life. Divya Bharathi says. “Personally, I used to work a lot to get over my judgment towards vitiligo, initially it did hurt me and I thought it really affected my life. Now I feel much more confident, it is all about our mindset. I consciously work towards being stronger when it gets to disturb me. I feel that people with vitiligo can be really confident if they don’t make a big deal about it. Physical beauty is a very small part of what a person really is.” So, through the vitiligo victims

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And Rotua Meyly also shared her struggle, she says, “26th April 2014 was the day that changed everything in my life. It was the day when I should join on a test of the Student Changing around the world. God is strengthening me. He whispered and help me get along through this all depression and the pain of mind in my life. Jesus is my savior, He is good at all the time. He is my best friend, He always there to listen my story in happiness and sadness, He encourage me at all the time. I do not know even that I get along this through difficulties into the blessed thing in my life. I just need time and the patience to get His miracle in my life to get my repigmentation of skin because as long as we still have faith and keep believing in Him, everything is possible. God’s promises never expire, He is there on the right time.” Actually, the most powerful thing that can change our mindset and act towards the condition that happened on us is our beliefs in God. That is back to Him again.

3.5 The Steps of Overcoming the Sociological Problems

Socialization is the critical importance point of social deprivation cases. It points the process by which humans learn the behaviors and beliefs appropriate for their social surroundings. The vitiligo victims need a high social support from family members, friends, co-workers, and other people to overcome the sociological problems that they faced off to make them believe that so many people are there love and care for them. Social support gives information and feedback from others that one is loved and cared for, esteemed and valued, and included in a network of communication.

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Social support has three types of benefits. First, social support has a benefit as tangible assistance, which is means family and friends can provide goods and services in stressful circumstances, for example, there is a time for the vitiligo victims simply not comfort with themselves in front of others, even to go outside to buy food for them, they are not interested in. So, in this case, someone who can help these vitiligo victims to buy food has been showing that the vitiligo victims get the social support. Second, social support has a benefit as information, which is means individuals who provide support can also recommend specific actions and plans to help the person under stress cope more effectively, for example, friends may notice that is over thinking about the vitiligo victim of her skin disease and suggest ways to manage and control her thought about herself towards others more efficiently with a time for making relax for self. And the last, social support as emotional support, which is means in stressful situation, individuals often suffer emotionally and many develop depression, anxiety, and loss of self-esteem, for example, when someone is in a condition of emotionally stressful problem, friends and family can reassure the person under stress that make become a valuable individual who is loved by others.

Ayushi & Dharam Mehta in Surat shared their feeling in vitiligo community in Facebook, WorldVitiligoDay. Ayushi and Dharam Mehta say, “During my childhood my friends used to call me black & white. I can say that I was a famous person in my school. Being affected by vitiligo, my personal life is never affected and my social life is great too. I simply ignore all those who speak behind my back. I would always stress on the following to people who feel they

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are low – “You are who you are. No matter what fault others find in you, you just have to keep smiling, keep forgiving, keep forgetting and keep living! And trust me, at the end, life will give you tremendous things.” See, in this statement, the author would like to say that mostly if the vitiligo victims want to cope the sociological problems, they should simply ignore all those who speak behind them back. The vitiligo victims just have to keep smiling, keep forgiving, keep forgetting and keep living. As like Christina Alvarado has said that she has a hard time for accepting a vitiligo on her body. But Christina Alvarado has been reassure by the benefits of social support as an emotional support by the people who make a cared, being loved, and being accepted is exist on her soul. Here, care is very much powerful medicine for someone.

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4. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

4.1 Conclusions

1) Vitiligo is one of the skin diseases that give a negative impact of out-looking of the victims. The problems of the vitiligo victims from the psychological and sociological aspects in this case are the stressful of facing the condition that they never expected for struggling of life and the social stigma around society. Hard to accept the changing of skin color and expect the normal skin color back again are a very depressed and stressful one for the vitiligo victims. What the vitiligo victims want is just to be as like normal people. Psychology of health and illness is very much gave an impact for the vitiligo victims’ life around society as in sociology scientific study.

2) Many ways and steps to cure vitiligo have been found by dermatologist as the expert of skin problem. Some treatment will caused worse the vitiligo condition and some are giving a better condition of the skin color. But the author believes that the natural one is always the best although will take a long time to get cure. Besides that, the managing stress by having positive thinking inside of mind and always being gratitude for everything that has happened in life.

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4.2 Suggestions

Physical appearance is one of the biological factors that influence people’s personality, and vitiligo is the disease that just attacks the appearance of person that has it. That is why the vitiligo victims usually have a same struggling in life on a condition of mentally down, very depressed, very stressful, and feeling very bad among other people. A number of people suffer from depression because of this disease and that is the only reason various researches are being conducted in order to obtain vitiligo cure so that people can out run this depression and get their self- confidence back. The vitiligo victims are not people who need to be distanced, they are still as like normal people. The author suggests the reader to blend with the vitiligo victims.

Vitiligo is same as like disease that exist around society. It has the way to cure it. Something that the author suggests to the readers is sharing whatever the information that readers get in outside, around in society and let the vitiligo victims know how to get better of the skin repigmentation.

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REFERENCES

Feldman, Robert.S.2010. Psychology and Your Life.New York:MCGraw-Hill Halgin, Richard P. and Susan Krauss Whitbourne.2009.Abnormal

Psychology:Clinical Perspectives Psychological Disorders.Ed.6.United States:McGraw-Hill Higher Education

st 2015,4:41

P.M.

Krech, David Et al.1962.Individual in Society.New York:McGraw Hill

Leimon, Averil.2009.Positive Psychology for Dummies.England:Gladeana McMakon Wiley

Lie, Oei Suk.2008. You are an Incredible Person.Medan:USU Press

Mackenna,W.Robert.1952.Diseases of the Skin.London:Bailliere, Tindall and Cox Santrock, John W.2005.Psychology 7.New York:McGraw Hill

Watts, Alan W.1963.Psychology East and West.New York:A Mentor Book

Zax, Melvin and Emory L Cowen .1976.Abnormal Psychology:Changing Conceptions.London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston

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REFERENCES

Feldman, Robert.S.2010. Psychology and Your Life.New York:MCGraw-Hill

Halgin, Richard P. and Susan Krauss Whitbourne.2009.Abnormal

Psychology:Clinical Perspectives Psychological Disorders.Ed.6.United States:McGraw-Hill Higher Education

st 2015,4:41

P.M.

Krech, David Et al.1962.Individual in Society.New York:McGraw Hill

Leimon, Averil.2009.Positive Psychology for Dummies.England:Gladeana McMakon Wiley

Lie, Oei Suk.2008. You are an Incredible Person.Medan:USU Press

Mackenna,W.Robert.1952.Diseases of the Skin.London:Bailliere, Tindall and Cox Santrock, John W.2005.Psychology 7.New York:McGraw Hill

Watts, Alan W.1963.Psychology East and West.New York:A Mentor Book

Zax, Melvin and Emory L Cowen .1976.Abnormal Psychology:Changing Conceptions.London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston

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